


'til the end of the line

by orphan_account



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Captain America AU, Kinda, Loss of Parent(s), M/M, More tags will be added later, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers (but it's race lol), Sharing a Bed, Strong Female Characters, WWII AU, hell yeah, hell yeah x2, hell yeah x3, i wrote this on a boat sorry if it's bad, protective spot yes pls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 05:28:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14784398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: here's a completely self-indulgent sprace avengers authis will probably mostly follow the timeline of 'the first avenger' and some of 'the winter soldier', but i haven't planned the whole thing out, so i'm not really surefor anyone unfamiliar with the storyline, a brief synopsis will be provided in the notes of each chapter to better explain what's going onand just for general stuff, race is steve, spot is bucky, peggy will be revealed soon, albert will be sam, and more;)





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> ok, for the prologue, it doesn't really follow the events of any of the movies at all, so i will just explain the canon marvel backstories that inspired this
> 
> so 'pre-captain america' steve rogers (aka race) is a very small, sickly boy from brooklyn with a thirst for justice and setting the world right. he wants to fight for his country in ww2, but because of his size and an extensive list of chronic illnesses, he is consistently declined. his best friend bucky barnes (aka spot) is about to leave on tour in the war he wants so desperately to be a part of, so he refuses to give up trying.
> 
> in the prologue, race and spot are seven years old and meeting for the first time. my goal was to hint at future plotlines as well as showing how long they've been a part of each other's lives to motivate future actions and decisions. my concepts of their families are mostly my own, but some general backstory details are canon.

They were seven years old. Antonio, barely old enough for his school enrollment year, and Sean, just starting school after being homeschooled by his mother his first eligible year. He had begged not to go, claiming his little brother and newborn sister needed him there to protect them, but his parents made him go anyway, promising the kids would be just fine without him. 

Antonio had been eager to go to school ever since he first learned what it was. The small, frail boy hadn’t attended school the first year either, being far too sick with his most recently-diagnosed asthma, but he had never been so excited. Nothing could hold him back from adventure, and he’d finally have the chance to do it without his mother worried out of her mind. Well, he figured she’d still be worried the entire time, but at least she was letting him out of the house. 

Still, he was in for a rude awakening when he strolled into the school house early that first morning. He learned quickly that the first year of school was apparently crucial to making friends. No one wanted to give more than a glance to the sickly, wheezing boy, except for one. 

Sean had decided he preferred that name when his grandfather died. He was named after the man; Patrick Sean Conlon, He had gladly been ‘Patrick’ his whole life, but a few months earlier when his grandfather passed away, he had immediately denounced it, claiming ‘Sean’ instead. 

As he shyly arrived early to class, he took a seat at the side of the room by the window, staring outside as he only half-heartedly listened to the sounds of the rest of the class walking in. The scattered leaves flying down the Brooklyn streets were enough to hold his attention until a small cough broke him from his gaze and he snapped his head up to see someone had taken the seat in front of him. The boy was small, his weightless blond curls amounting to at least an inch or two of his height, but the boy was still about the size Sean was a year or two younger. Nonetheless, he was the first person to even come _near_ Sean since he had showed up, so the least he could do was try to be nice. 

They quickly struck up a conversation, finding loads in common and even making a promise to sit together during lunch hour. It was simple, most friendships were at that age, but by the end of that first week, the two boys were inseparable. No one ever saw one without the other. Their respective parents were glad their sons finally had a true friend and, though they never mentioned it, the boys were too. 

Antonio’s mother Sarah had been terribly anxious the moment her son came home from his first day of school absolutely gushing about his new friend. Her son was never much of a ‘people person’, he didn’t like to leave the apartment much and there was an extensive list of health problems that haunted her son wherever he went. From asthma, to Scarlet Fever, to just plain anxiety, and more, there was always a reason for her to worry. 

Still, when she looked out the window one day after at least a month of hearing Antonio talk about his new friend Sean non-stop, she was afraid of how badly it would hurt him when he found out that some kids just didn’t want to wait for the little guy to catch up. 

But that was before she saw it. That was before she saw the two boys together for the first time. 

Antonio was walking home from school one afternoon with a boy only a few inches taller than he was. She knew that had to be Sean. The two boys were talking animatedly as they walked side-by-side, their smiles wide and their inaudible laughter hearty. Then, an older kid, maybe about twelve or thirteen, clipped her son on his shoulder, toppling him onto the ground. Sarah felt her heart plummet to her stomach, She had half a mind to run right down the street after the kid, but then…someone did it for her. 

Sean was barreling down the sidewalk and before she knew it, he swept the kid off his feet, sending him flying towards the sidewalk face-first. Antonio appeared at his side in a matter of seconds, his fists clenched at his sides as if he was ready for the boy to go after Sean back afterwards but the kid simply picked himself up, grabbing at his bleeding nose as he ran down the street and didn’t look back. Antonio grabbed onto Sean’s arm and Sarah could feel the smile creeping onto her face as she watched Sean immediately turn and give his friend a once-over before the latter coughed into his elbow and Sean was immediately in front of him, crouching down. 

Sarah Higgins was already planning out all of the ways she could possibly thank the boy and his parents for somehow avoiding every one of her fears about the kids her son’s age as she watched Sean running down the sidewalk with his arms out and Antonio on his back holding on tightly and laughing wildly. She opened up the window she had been watching out of as the pair neared the building and called out to her son, inviting his friend to join them for dinner as well.

That night, as she periodically went to check on the two boys, she had never seen two people act so comfortable around each other so quickly. Their smiles were genuine, their laughter was frequent and loud, and there was hardly an inch of space between them as if Sean was ready to cover Antonio at any moment.

Ever since Sarah Higgins lost her husband in the Great War, she was terrified she’d never be able to protect her son. When he started getting sicker and sicker as the next seven years passed, she hated to admit how hopeless she felt, but maybe this kid would be her baby boy’s little guardian. She couldn’t be sure, but that kid had ‘mini Matthew Higgins’ written all over him.

So, when the boy left after dinner that night, Sarah thanked him profusely for standing up for her son, gave the boy a short letter she had written for his parents, and hugged him tightly before saying goodbye. 

That night, after Rosemary Conlon put her children to bed, she read a letter from a woman she didn’t know about a kid she had only heard of from her son’s countless school stories and suddenly felt more pride in her heart than she ever thought possible. She raised a good kid. That was all she’d ever really wanted to hear from another mother. 

Sean had been so sad for so long. It was the loneliness, she was almost sure of it, but she still found it hard to help. He was struggling to grow up like a normal kid and se knew it, but this Antonio kid…if he was anything like how her son talked about him, he had to be a true angel. 

So that was how Patrick Sean Conlon and Antonio Higgins met, became each other’s whole world, and shared an unspoken vow to never leave each other’s side. 

From that first day onward, it was Tony and Sean side-by-side, against the world, ’til the end of the line.


	2. ch. 1 - even when i had nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the first chapter!
> 
> finally we're in the actual time period of the plot, even though this is basically just more exposition,,,rip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for anyone unfamiliar with the movie or the story of steve rogers and bucky barnes, this chapter is mostly self-explanatory in the actual facts, but i did add in some common headcanons that the marvel fandom tends to widely accept such as the fact that they shared an apartment together in brooklyn at one point, as well as the idea that they probably couldn't afford a very big one and would probably just share a bad "for convenience" ;)
> 
> also, steve rogers was born in 1920, making him 18 in 1938 so this story is going to start there with race (as steve) being 18 and spot (as bucky, who is roughly a year older) being 19
> 
> anyway, that should be all you need to know for this chapter, so enjoy!

1938\. Antonio Higgins was eighteen years old and still not the slightest bit discouraged about yet another day of being denied into the United States Army.

Yeah, that was essentially his entire life at that point. Every other day he would apply at different stations with a different name, a new hometown, and about a dozen consistent wishes of good luck from his favorite person in the whole world.

Sergent Sean Conlon was nineteen and everything Tony wanted to be and more. He was about to head off on his first tour of the war after finishing the training regiment at the top of his class, and where was Tony? Stuck at home doing odd jobs around town and becoming a regular at the enlistment offices.

As if it wasn’t enough that he had Antonio’s absolute dream job, Sean had grown up to be gorgeous. He was constantly being noticed whenever they went out anywhere together. With his wavy, dark hair and sparkling hazel eyes, he was always the favorite of the two. That was enough even when people couldn’t see his perfectly-built figure.

Antonio was the exact opposite. His shaggy blonde curls and pale blue eyes did nothing for his pasty complexion and stick-thin figure.

It didn’t matter that Sean literally told him every chance he got that it made no difference to him. It didn’t matter that he claimed he’d never have his best friend any other way. It didn’t matter that he was always the determining factor in their lives. It was always whether he was well enough to do anything.

He could tell every second of every day that he was holding that boy back. It didn’t matter how successful Sean was with him around, he could always do more without Tony slowing him down.

So, as they laid in their shared bed, purely for warmth, of course, one night, Sean posed a question he knew Tony wouldn’t want to hear. He tightened his grip around the smaller boy, holding him close to his chest as their mutual red-hot affection kept their bodies warm.

“Hey, Ant,” he mused, sparking the other’s attention as he looked up at his friend. “You ever think maybe it’s time to throw in the towel?”

Sean winced the moment he felt Tony stiffen in his arms.

“W-what?” He squeaked. “W-what do you mean?”

He sighed, holding the boy even tighter so he wouldn’t have to see his betrayed face.

“I mean,” he continued. “I leave in two days, T. Don’t you ever think…maybe joining the war isn’t meant to be?”

Antonio was completely silent for what felt like the longest time.

“No,” he eventually spoke up, both making Sean’s heart drop and soar at the same time. It wasn’t the answer he was hoping for, but at least he wasn’t mad. He hated seeing Tony mad, especially at him. “I gotta’ be out there with you.”

That was what he’d been saying for months ever since Sean turned eighteen. Sean knew it was coming, but at least it was still the Tony he knew and loved.

Yeah.

“I’m scared enough just going in on my own,” he spoke softly, playing with the small, blond curls at the nape of the other’s neck. All he could think about was the familiar thumping of the boy’s heartbeat against his chest and it was frankly one of the few things keeping him sane at that moment. That, and the lightly-wheezy breaths of the asthmatic and the feeling of their legs tangled together. “I don’t think I’d be able to do my job if I knew you were out there with me. I need you. I need you so badly ‘Tonio, but I need you here. I need you safe.”

A slight hitch of the other’s breath made him wilt as he almost wished he’d never said anything at all. The silence that followed was deafening.

“I thought we said we’d always be in this together,” he whispered, holding Sean’s arms tightly against his chest. “Me and you ’til the end of the line. Even if that means on the front line.”

And the was the end of it.

Sean laid back, shivering slightly as the cold autumn air hit his back under the fraying blanket. Two years they had been living together ad they had never spent one night apart.

He was leaving in less than two days and there was a chance they might not spend another one together ever again. He didn’t want to think about it. He simply bit his tongue and tried to memorize every single detail of what it felt like to hold the boy he loved in his arms. Every single specific feeling of their breaths mingling and their skin pressed together would have to be the things keeping him going. He would need those memories to keep him going. He knew he would. If he wanted to sleep at all once he left, he knew he would need enough vivid memories to last him at least four months before he could hold the real thing again.

As much as he was proud to be fighting for his country, he still wasn’t sure if he was ready to potentially die for it. It wasn’t that he was afraid of death, he hadn’t been for years, but he couldn’t leave Tony all alone.

He just wasn’t sure if laying down his life for a country that denounced every part of his life was worth it.

But he couldn’t think like that, he just had to keep reminding himself of that. He needed to stay positive. He had no way of knowing if he would even come close to dying anyway. He was a pretty good shot, so maybe they wouldn’t even put him out in range of many other soldiers. He would make a mental note to ask his supervisor about any available sniper positions when he got deployed.

He just couldn’t leave yet. Not when there was so much more left to say.

So, as he felt the sleepiness tugging at his tired eyes, he curled his chin forward and pressed his lips to the smaller boy’s forehead, not caring if he was even awake to feel it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all, as always, for reading!! i hope you all enjoyed it and i can't wait for you to read the next chapter!
> 
> comments and kudos make my day and if you have any additional feedback or would like to see some of my other work before it's posted on ao3, be sure to check me out on tumblr @tony-higgins!

**Author's Note:**

> thank you all so much for reading! i have the next chapter and a half written already, but i would like to give myself some time in between uploads so i have more time to write each one, but i might just get excited and post them all in the next few days lol
> 
> anyway, comments make my day and kudos are greatly appreciated! 
> 
> check me out on tumblr @tony-higgins for earlier fic updates and details about my writing process!


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